Lung Cancer Alliance Applaudes Maine Congressional Delegation For Being First State In The Union To Unanimously Back Lung Cancer Research Funding Legislation

Washington, DC (Thursday, July 22, 2010) - Today,
Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed the Maine Congressional Delegation
for being the first State in the Union to unanimously back the Lung
Cancer Mortality Reduction Act (LCMRA), bi-partisan, bi-cameral
legislation establishing the first ever multi-agency, comprehensive
research program targeting all aspects of lung cancer.

Senator Susan Collins recently joined her fellow
delegation members in support of Senate bill S. 332. The House
companion measure is HR 2112.

“Maine’s State Moto, “Dirigo (I Lead)” is certainly in
action today”, said Laurie Fenton-Ambrose, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA)
President & CEO. “It is a pleasure to work with Congressional
Representatives who grasp quickly the need at hand and who act swiftly
to alert not just the citizen’s of Maine but the nation at large that
it is time for a more compassionate and comprehensive plan of action
for the entire lung cancer. This is leadership”.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among
women, men and in every ethnic group in Maine, in every state and
nationwide. Military men and women are at increased risk as compared
to their civilian counterparts. Additionally, the majority of those
diagnosed with lung cancer are former smokers and non-smokers. Lung
cancer’s five-year survival rates still hovers at 15 percent and it
remains the least funded in terms of federal research dollars when
compared to other major cancer’s and diseases.

“Maine’s Congressional
Delegation has made me very proud today,” said Deb Violette, LCA-Maine
Lead Advocate and survivor, “as it should every citizen across the
state. Each Representative welcomed me -- listened to the facts -- and
understood that the time to act was now to reverse decades of stigma
and neglect too long attached to lung cancer. I hope this unified show
of support will encourage other elected leaders and their respective
delegations to come together in a unified front to endorse this
legislation which will improve outcomes for the entire lung cancer
community.”

The Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act,
(S. 332 and HR. 2112) requires the Secretaries of Health and Human
Services, Defense and Veterans Affairs to combine forces on a
comprehensive, coordinated plan of action with funding authorized for
five years to accomplish the mortality reduction goal.